Northampton County is home to four different colleges. There's Lehigh University and its nemesis, Lafayette. There's Northampton Community College. Finally, there's Moravian College, which has no rival. These schools all have one thing in common. Me. I, a bottom-feeding blogger, have actually spoken at each of these fine institutions as a guest lecturer, imparting pearls of wisdom to eager young minds. At least I think I was a lecturer. It's either that or I'm a case study in aberrant behavior. Aside from me, these schools have something else in common. Booze. As real as the opioid crisis is in other segments of society, alcohol abuse is perhaps the biggest problem facing college students. Yesterday, NorCo DA John Morganelli announced that all four of these colleges will meet with him in May to see if they can arrive at a unified approach to this problem.
Morganelli admitted at the onset that it's "naive to think we're going to stop college kids from drinking." But get this. Alcohol is a killer. According to the
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, drinking by college-age students (18-24) leads to 1,825 deaths, 696,000 assaults and 97,000 sexual assaults every year. It keeps prosecutors busy, but that misses the point. "We're here to save kids' lives," he stressed.
Also attending this summit will be representatives of Northampton County's very busy Drug and Alcohol Division.
Morganelli noted that drinking rates are highest in fraternities and sororities, followed by students who live on campus as well as those who play sports. It is least prevalent among students who commute and still live with their parents. The binge drinking is usually at its worse during the first few weeks of school.
OMG you have polluted the minds of young people at each of these institutions? Maybe that's what causes them to drink so much...
ReplyDeleteProbably.
ReplyDeleteIf JM is tough on booze than why did Jack Cuvo get off so easy in the Naz case?
ReplyDeleteGood old JM always finds something to be outraged about when he’s running for a higher office. Remember when he was super upset with the immigration situation? Believe he was in the process of losing (again) the state AG race. This issue will pass as soon as the next election is over, I’m sure.
ReplyDeleteCompletely unnecessary.
ReplyDeleteTone deaf to the issues which are driving the Democratic base today.
ReplyDeleteI thought Moravian's rival was Muhlenberg?
ReplyDeleteDid he bring any repeat DUI offender politicians like Boscola, Brennan or Brown with him?
ReplyDeleteGood for John, crazy times in college especially when the kids have 'handle' parties, I was a chaperone a few times and even those who seemed 'not the type' get really buzzed and real fast...
ReplyDeleteJOHN has my vote for congress!!!
Mr Morganelli has clearly never been to a frat party.
ReplyDeleteJM has been a disappointment. If it benefits his agenda he's agressively addressing it, it not it's ARD or some other quite fade away. When he really works for all the people I'll consider voting for him. Until he proves himself I'll vote for someone else.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to hear what a drain on public safety the drinking at Lafayette is, listen to your scanner on a Friday or Saturday night when school is in session. They are sending ambulances up there left and right for intoxicated students. Invariably, somewhere in the course of this, someone else has to wait longer for help due to the drunken antics of these students.
ReplyDelete@8:50AM
ReplyDeleteIf it saves just one life...
Isn’t it illegal to consume alcohol in Pennsylvania if you are under 21?
ReplyDeleteWould enforcing the law be a good first step?
Asking for a friend.
I deleted four comments that attempted to hijack this thread into a discussion of gun control. i consider that kind of behavior rude to me. It takes me time and energy to write these stories, and I expect the comments to be on that topic. If you are not interested, move along. If you want, start your own blog.
ReplyDelete8:00, Yes, Moravian's rival is Muhlenberg, but really, it is so far ahead all these schools that it has no rival. I went there, by the way, but am paid to say I went to Muhlenberg.
ReplyDelete5:15, Maybe he should stop being DA, eh? Why don't you call all your criminal friends and tell them to stop committing crimes so that Morganelli has no reason to call a news conference. The nature of a John's job makes it necessary for him to communicate with the public on a regular basis. Most DAs do this. If John thinks there are political overtones to his message, he will not conduct the news conference in his office. But this more or less makes my point about his campaign. He has been doing this for 25 years.That means 25 years of coverage within the Lehigh Valley. That means high name recognition, most of it very positive. It is very hard to overcome this, especially when there are so many candidates. The reality is that he is the Democrat best equipped to win this seat, and his values are the ones most voters in this district hold. He is a centrist, like Charlie Dent.
ReplyDeletePriorities matter.
ReplyDeleteBrennan would have been there but according to mcall.com, he's going away for a year in Northampton county for his 3rd DUI.
ReplyDeleteBlah blah blah. More grandstanding and free advertising for this lil fella.
ReplyDeleteIs JM going to step down from being DA if he wins his primary.
ReplyDeleteThis is great! Morganelli has substantial experience in this area, as he white washed a DUI arrest for his son before one of the Northampton District Justices. I'm sure your investigative experience can certify this fact and determine what one of the 15 DJ's played into Morganelli's,corrupt double standard.
ReplyDeleteThis guy is not what he as appears. Only examine his office politics to see who he really is! Northampton County employee's are not fooled!
Please convey the truth on this guy. Your own credibility is at stake!
5:6, John has never whitewashed anything for anyone.I am well aware that he has three children, and that one of them was charged with an alcohol-related offense. There was a story about it in at least one of the two dailies. It was treated in the same manner that anyone else would be treated. No one should be above the law, but no one should have to suffer extra humiliation bc his father is the DA. I doubt any of the candidates are behind this complaint. It is coming from someone who has a vendetta against him bc he would not do as she wanted.
ReplyDeleteJohn is responsible for up holding the law. Do not try to minimize this thing on he being a father We are all parents! He has a special card and uses it regularly!
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should ask some of his female DA's about his behavior in the office.
You and others may be surprised. A real family man!
Tricia Mezzacappa, aka Phillips, You are not a parent. You have no empathy for them or anyone. You are pursuing a vendetta against a DA who refused to follow your commands.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteA former state representative from Bethlehem faces at least a year in prison after pleading guilty Wednesday to third-offense drunken driving.
http://www.mcall.com/news/police/mc-nws-bethlehem-former-state-representative-joseph-brennan-drunken-driving-20180328-story.html
Drinking is a serious problem. Joe Brennan is one of the best people on the face of this earth, but he has an illness that has taken away what matters most to him. It did the same thing to me. Lots of good people suffer from alcoholism.
ReplyDeleteHuman's, some are just more stupid than others.
ReplyDeletean illness is an excuse for many things.
ReplyDeleteIt’s not an excuse, it’s an explanation.
ReplyDeleteHe's Irish like Bernie. Who forced him to pick up the glass or bottle. Did I mention he is Irish?
ReplyDeleteCollege drinking? Try staying on target as Congress has more pressing issues than frat party drunks. Even the locals could care less. It's about jobs and taxes and government spending and the fool in the WH! JM is a perennial political loser.
ReplyDelete9:17, He is staying on target. He is the DA. Why don't you stay on target?
ReplyDeleteDrinking at college is a simple thing like so many other things we talk about in these blogs.
ReplyDeleteIf you are going to allow drinking allow it and deal with the things that are going to happen.
If you are not going to allow it especially since the legal age is 21 do not allow it. Do not turn a blind eye and say oh kids will be kids. make the colleges report all incidents alcohol and drug related. make them abide by their own rules which often state that underage drinking will not be tolerated and is grounds for dismissal from the school. There is no room for excuses, illness, or variations.
Rules are not rules and laws only apply to those that allow them to apply to themselves anymore. There can be a hard line drawn if one really needs to be.
no Morganelli has zero chance of winning, 30 to 40% of democrats in the district will skip the race if he is the nominee, and it has happened before Sam Bennett
ReplyDelete